Tag Archives: read romance

“I’ve been talking my ass off for more than an hour now, telling you shit no one’s ever heard anything about, hoping that I’ll say something, Jesus God, anything that will convince you to have sex with me.”

2

“If you want, I can carry you—”
“I’m fine,” she said shortly. “Let’s go.”
He’d said that wrong. He should have said, “I want to carry you.”

3

“You love me,” he said. “That’s all I need to know.”
“You always say the right thing,” Savannah told him, her eyes so filled with love that he almost wept. “Sometimes it takes you awhile to get to it, but you always get there, and what you say is always worth waiting for.”

4

““I’m going to carry you now,” he told her, “so we can move even faster. I’m not asking you, I’m telling you. Any response from you is unnecessary and unwelcome.”

5

“This wasn’t Weirdville, this was fricking Wonderland. Alice here was all grow up, but she was still chowing down on too much of that psychedelic mushroom.”

—
Ava Delany
The Fetish Club Series, The Homecoming Series, and The Beginnings Series.
Look for my newest release- A Surprising Day – on Kindle, Allromanceebooks, and many other places where ebooks are sold.

“Like the legless man, I’m unaccountably fascinated by those who can dance.”

2

“Every word you have ever uttered, is engraved upon my heart.”

3

“If he presses, tell him it’s a female matter. That stop any question.”

4

“You’ve used me to punish yourself, haven’t you?”
He watched dawning realization spread over her face, a confirmation more positive than anything she could ever say, and that arrow twisted deep in his
chest. Yet still he had to ask the last question.
“Am I anything to you but a punishment?”

5

“I’d walk through fire for you,” he rasped, his voice hoarse and broken. “I have walked through fire for you.”

—
Ava Delany
The Fetish Club Series, The Homecoming Series, and The Beginnings Series.
Look for my newest release- A Surprising Day – on Kindle, Allromanceebooks, and many other places where ebooks are sold.

Reena’s hands twisted at her skirt, and she bit her lip, willing
him without a sound to face her. Suddenly, he turned in her
direction and their eyes met. A vibrant shock ran through her
body. She stared at him entranced for a moment. If his hair was
the sandy beach, his blue-grey eyes, the lake on which mysterious
clouds had formed.

2

“What? You know as well as I that the twins are merely courting
me because of their rivalry. I still remember the day in that
alleyway. They fought each other so that each ended with the
other’s head in his arm. It was rather ridiculous.” She grinned at
the memory, in spite of herself. “Anyhow, they are competing for
me. Remember when Uncle Howard had to turn them away when
they started to bring me flowers? It started with a single red rose
from Michael.”
Emily grinned as she grabbed the dress from the bed. “Your
uncle was quite put out with a house full of flowers and poor
Martin on the doorstep with four dozen roses.”

3

“You came to me and said:
‘Excuse me, but could I trick you into sailing to America where
you know no one and then leave you in a gutter with nowhere to
go’?”
She laughed.
“You’ve discovered my plan.” Reena put a hand to her chin
as if in contemplation “Well, I’ll just have to come up with a new
one.” She

4

“Reena closed the book and held it for a moment. She wanted
to get another peek at him. She loved to study Joshua, and when
he didn’t know she was watching, she could really take her time.
Her foot began to tap, and then her leg began to shake. Before Reena
even realized she’d made the decision to move, her book was
on the table, and she stood at the window of her uncle’s study.

5

“No tears now, my love. This is a moment for happiness, love,
and passion.”

—
Ava Delany
The Fetish Club Series, The Homecoming Series, and The Beginnings Series.
Look for my newest release- A Surprising Day – on Kindle, Allromanceebooks, and many other places where ebooks are sold.

“For the record,” she continued, “it’s not my fault I came in here looking like Chesty LaRue. You caught me on laundry day, so I have no undergarments on. Though I will cop to a little extra spring in my step for your benefit.”

2

She murmured, “You’re unfinished.”
“Aye, precisely.”
“I need to go.”
When she moved to get up, he shoved her against his side and slapped her arse to keep her there. “You stay with me.”
She snapped, “What do you want from me, Chase?”
He drew his head back in confusion. “I want everything. You’re mine, Regin.”

3

“Your ultimatum didn’t sit well with me, so naturally, I voiced my opinion.”
“Which was?”
“That you should go copulate with a pig. It sounded way cooler in medieval French.”

4

“One day I’m going to make that little piggy cry all the way home.”

5

“I can draw you a diagram. Hint: I’m slot B, and you’re tab A.”

—
Ava Delany
The Fetish Club Series, The Homecoming Series, and The Beginnings Series.
Look for my newest release- A Surprising Day – on Kindle, Allromanceebooks, and many other places where ebooks are sold.

“There isn’t any poison oak in the winter. It’s hard to convince a girl you’re sexy when you can’t stop scratching your ass because of the rash.”

2

“Smile…it makes people wonder what you’re up to.”

3

“She’s drunk dialing contractors. Someone should stop her.”

4

“Sorry,” he said. “Let me drop the belt-”
“No.” She held on when he would have pulled away. “Don’t. I like it.”
Again, he lifted her face, and he smiled. “The tool belt turns you on.”
“No.” She closed her eyes and thunked her forehead to his chest. “Little bit.”

5

“I’m already yours. Always have been. All you have to do is step into the ring.”

—
Ava Delany
The Fetish Club Series, The Homecoming Series, and The Beginnings Series.
Look for my newest release- A Surprising Day – on Kindle, Allromanceebooks, and many other places where ebooks are sold.

He couldn’t just come right out with it, could he? No, that would scare her off. He had to be subtle, build up to it. Explain himself.
“I love you.”
Of course, straight to the point was also an effective strategy.

2

“Excuse me, your attention please.”
He waited until the whole floor had stopped what it was doing and turned to face him. For a split second his impulse control kicked in, but by then his mouth was fully engaged.
“For the record, Claire Marsden and I are not having sex.”

3

“She didn’t sound overjoyed. She didn’t sound even slightly joyed.”

4

“Just leave me alone, I want to be alone,” she said when Jack tried to open the car door. She hit the lock, and wound the window up. Since the roof was down, it was a fairly pointless exercise.

5

Then Jack turned to her.
Safari? That was the best excuse you could come up with for me not being at a meeting?”
She winced apologetically. “I’m sorry. I’m a terrible liar.”
What was wrong with simple sickness? A nice, normal bout of food poisoning?”
He was in a bad mood. I kind of got carried away,” she admitted.
Boy, are you lucky I watched Tarzan so much as a kid.”

—
Ava Delany
The Fetish Club Series, The Homecoming Series, and The Beginnings Series.
Look for my newest release- A Surprising Day – on Kindle, Allromanceebooks, and many other places where ebooks are sold.

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that when one part of your life starts going okay, another falls spectacularly to pieces.”

2

“I will not fall for any of the following: alcoholics, workaholics, commitment phobics, people with girlfriends or wives, misogynists, megalomanics, chauvists, emotional f@ckwits or freeloaders, perverts.”

3

“Being a woman is worse than being a farmer. There is so much harvesting and crop spraying to be done: legs to be waxed, underarms shaved, eyebrows plucked, feet pumiced, skin exfoliated and moisturized, spots cleansed, roots dyed, eyelashes tinted, nails filed, cellulite massaged, stomach muscles exercised. The whole performance is so highly tuned you only need to neglect it for a few days for the whole thing to go to seed. Sometimes I wonder what I would be like if left to revert to nature — with a full beard and handlebar moustache on each shin, Dennis Healey eyebrows, face a graveyard of dead skin cells, spots erupting, long curly fingernails like Struwelpeter, blind as bat and stupid runt of species as no contact lenses, flabby body flobbering around. Ugh ugh. Is it any wonder girls have no confidence”

4

“Can officially confirm that the way to a man’s heart these days is not through beauty, food, sex, or alluringness of character, but merely the ability to seem not very interested in him.”

5

“Come on, let’s get you a drink. How’s your love life, anyway?”

Oh God. Why can’t married people understand that this is no longer a polite question to ask? We wouldn’t rush up to them and roar, “How’s your marriage going? Still have sex?”

—
Ava Delany
The Fetish Club Series, The Homecoming Series, and The Beginnings Series.
Look for my newest release- A Surprising Day – on Kindle, Allromanceebooks, and many other places where ebooks are sold.

And when her lips met mine, I knew that I could live to be a hundred and visit every country in the world, but nothing would ever compare to that single moment when I first kissed the girl of my dreams and knew that my love would last forever.

2

“Passion is passion. It’s the excitement between the tedious spaces, and it doesn’t matter where it’s directed…It can be coins or sports or politics or horses or music or faith…the saddest people I’ve ever met in life are the ones who don’t care deeply about anything at all.”

3

“It’s possible to go on, no matter how impossible it seems.”

4

“”It’ll be hard, but life moves fast-we’ll see each other again. I know that. I can feel that. Just like I can feel how much you care for me and how much I love you”

5

“They inspire you, they entertain you, and you end up learning a ton even when you don’t know it”

—
Ava Delany
The Fetish Club Series, The Homecoming Series, and The Beginnings Series.
Look for my newest release- A Surprising Day – on Kindle, Allromanceebooks, and many other places where ebooks are sold.

“Very few people mate for life with the people they fall for at twelve. Doesn’t mean is isn’t real, doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt, doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter, but basically, we’re talking a practice swing in the big game of love.”

3

Mason was leaving her for a fifty-four-year-old woman who didn’t moisturize

4

“Everybody’s crooked. The trick is to find out how they’re bent.”

5

“Dempseys are never in trouble. We just have stretches of life that are more interesting than others.”

—
Ava Delany
The Fetish Club Series, The Homecoming Series, and The Beginnings Series.
Look for my newest release- A Surprising Day – on Kindle, Allromanceebooks, and many other places where ebooks are sold.

“You’ve won the evolutionary lottery: You’re a vampire. Let’s go to Disneyland!”

2

The half-human was the hottest thing he’d ever gotten anywhere near. And he’d cozied up to a lightning strike once or twice before.

3

“Perfect date material, she thought. A vampire with the social equivalent of road rage.”

4

“Tell me something,boys. Do you wear that leather to turn each other on? I mean, is it a dick thing with you all?”

5

Wrath dragged Beth into his arms and hugged her hard, talking in that other language again. When he pulled back, he ended the monologue with something like leelan.
Beth: “Is that vampire talk for bitch?”

—
Ava Delany
The Fetish Club Series, The Homecoming Series, and The Beginnings Series.
Look for my newest release- A Surprising Day – on Kindle, Allromanceebooks, and many other places where ebooks are sold.

Your manuscript is complete, now what?
Send it off to the publisher and/or agent of your dreams, right?
Wrong…

Now that your manuscript is complete, and your story is told you have a lot of work ahead of you. First, you are going to want to polish your script. I wish I had known as much about this when I turned in Crushing Desire and Bound by Freedom, Unbound by Love as I do now. It would have made the final edit process easier and more fruitful.
You can’t finish a manuscript and say it is good enough. Unfortunately, it likely won’t fly in the publishing business. They will tell you, in no kind terms that the manuscript isn’t polished and they can’t accept it. I have discovered in my research about the craft that there are steps that you must take when you revise a manuscript and I will list them for you here.

Steps to a final edit…
I can’t say it enough. Edit your manuscript… Edit, edit, edit.

Step one…
Download a text to speech reader.
These things are amazingly helpful for first as well as final edits. When you are reading your manuscript, things might seem to be going smoothly. You know what you meant to write, and you are reading those words and getting wrapped up in the prose. Even your critique partner might miss a small mistake.

Example-
You meant to write:
They moved from the kitchen, holding hands as they went.
But what you typed was:
They moved form the kitchen, holding hands as they went.

This is a mistake you can easily miss. I know that I have missed it form time to time. JK. A reader -such as Natural Reader, which has a free download of their text to speech software- will catch these if you read along with it. I usually open the text in natural reader and my word processor as well. I can then follow along in the word processor document and make corrections while the reader reads the text.

Step two…
Remove repetitive words and beginnings.
It is important to remove repetitive words and repeated sentence beginnings in the text. Overused words can get annoying and you might not catch them on first reread. Look especially for words like had, was, and that. Make certain that all -ly words, such as lazily, have a purpose. If not, omit them. Pay attention to words you overuse, and try to pare them in step two. Check your manuscript for the words saw and noticed, and see that the are not telling instead of showing.

Example-
Jane moved into the room, and was surprised. She saw John sitting on the couch, his length lazily stretched along the cushions of it. She was sure that he knew that she had no dowry, so why was he here? Was she to believe that he thought that she would not know that it was he that had divested her of it?

This is a bit overdone, but you get the picture. It would be better written this way.

Jane stepped into the room, eyes widening in surprise. John reclined on the couch, stretching his length along its cushions. Her dowry was gone and he knew it, having divested her of it personally. So why should he be here?

Removing the repeated and overused words gives the passage a fresher sound. In fact, you could remove the term ‘in surprise’, and ‘stretching his length along its cushions’ in this passage as well. They really are implied. Surprise is suggested in the widening of her eyes. The word reclined insinuates that he is stretched out on the couch. As a romance novelist, however, I appreciate that some things are left in for the craft’s sake. It is up to you. Remove what you can of the repeated words without destroying your voice.

Step three…
Give the manuscript to one, or more, trusted reader(s)
A critique partner, or heck, even two or three of them can be invaluable. Give the script out to beta readers. People who will read your scripts and tell you (honestly!!!) what they think. They might give an opinion on the whole book or on something specific you ask for an opinion on, but they can be helpful in catching mistakes. Your readers can tell you if some question isn’t answered or if there is a major flaw. Some critique partners will go through chapter by chapter with you and give you a detailed critique.

Example-
I have critique partners who is critiquing my current WIP chapter by chapter. I also have two readers that read my WIP and tell me what they think on the whole.

Step four… Final read-through and polish.

Once you have all the feedback and have removed or reworded what must be fixed, it is time for the final polish. This is the spit polish, so to speak. You really want to do your best for this part of the final edit. I often use Natural Reader for this part as well. I want to hear how the final product is sounding. I keep listening until I can get all the way through without revision. Then my manuscript is ready.

Step five…
There is no step five… Yay… If you follow the previous steps, and polish your heart out, you will finally be ready to seek your agent or publisher. You will also have a far better chance that the search will be successful.

I thought that I would talk a little about what I learned this year like I did in my post last year.

What I learned while researching-

-Your hero/heroine should meet within the first 3 chapters if you have a regular novel, sooner if it is short. (This is one that I think you can play with depending on your story.)

-You have to make your hero and heroine lovable, but you should also think about the smaller characters. (This is something I always try to do, but I thought it bore mentioning.)

-You can’t have a character under 18 be sexually active, even if it is a realistic thing for the time you are writing in.

-Reading about writing can give you ideas, so even if you know everything about a subject, you should still check it out. It can help.

-There are a number of websites to help you find the things you need. If you need to research how much money a stable boy made in the 18th century, or what an officer would do when responding to a shooting, you can find it on the internet. (Ava Delany is blogging on this very subject on Friday, and as she always reminds us, Just be sure to check the credibility of the information and the website). History teachers, librarians, even cops are all willing to take time to help you if you tell them you are writing a book.

What I learned personally in 2010-

-It always hurts to get rejected by that agent you really thought you would gel with or would make your work shine. No matter how prepared you are, or how many others you query, that one always hurts.

-You have to get out there, no matter how many acceptance/rejection letters you receive. And each one will be just as nerve-wracking as the last.

-You have to take chances in your writing. You never know what people will want next.

-Don’t be afraid to write what you feel. It may not be as dark or scary as you think. Besides, dark and scary can make for great tension. 😉

Hope these help those of you who are thinking of writing, and perhaps even those of you who have written often.

For Christmas, I decided to research ebook readers. While there are many choices, all within about $50 of each other for base models, I decided chose to focus on the top three 3G readers – the kindle 3, nook, and sony daily reader.

So many sites review these readers, but after much research I found some little known information between seeing the readers in store. Though I will share some of the regular info, I will focus on the little known facts.

There are three main features of each reader that I love, unfortunately they seem to be unique to their reader.

The Sony Daily reader offers a handwriting feature. Using a stylus (or a finger) you can draw pictures, take notes, anything you want. That’s a great option for a woman with two kids and one husband that is quite similar to a kid when it comes to drawing cartoons.

The Nook has the lend me feature. You can lend any book you buy (once for a two week period). You can also get loans from a friend with a nook. Reader applications on a PC, Mac, iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry or certain other androids can also allow this lending feature with the proper app.

Kindle has text-to-speech. I love that, especially as a mom. When you just can’t put that book down, and you need to make lunch or change a diaper, you only need a pair of headphones and viola!

Other than these features, there are a number of great things about these ebook readers.

The Sony features six font sizes, which could come in handy. The media expansion slot is a great plus. The Daily Edition also displays Word and PDF files, shows most image files, and plays MP3 and AAC audio. Unlike most other readers, the protective case is included.

The Nook has “in store” features that include the ability to browse complete eBooks (though there is a one hour limit within any given 24-hour period) and promotions for Nook users. MP3 audio files and images can be loaded onto the reader, but can’t be done wirelessly. Each of these readers has 3G and wifi, but the Nook actually lets you browse the net. It also has android apps which might make the Nook future bright.

Kindle is said to be the fastest and easiest to use, not that I noticed that much of a difference in store. You can listen to music on this one as well. Social networking and some web browsing is allowed with the internet connection, as are blog updates, so you could keep up with blogs like A History of Romance. *wink*Your books are synced with other devices so you can keep your page even when you get home or go out sans kindle.

Other small considerations.

There’s no charge/contract for the wifi or 3G service.

Both the Nooks and Sony Readers let you read ePub files (library and free materials are often ePub).

Kindle 3 does not offer a touch screen, however Sony Touch Edition and the Daily Edition, the nook (only at the base of the screen) and the nook color do have touch screens

I know I’ve been away much too long. I won’t be out of the loop from now on, but as they say, ‘life happens.’ I’ll do my best to give you a brief snapshot of where I’ve been during my time away from the blog. I’m only really starting to recover from all the excitement. Great thing is, there’s much more ahead.
Last month passed in a blurr. I was getting ready for my first-ever RWA National conference, (which was absolutely amazing). I caught up with members from The Greater Detroit chapter – my local chapter. I met some wonderful people, my fellow GIAMers, some fellow conference newbees, and Harlequin Romance Senior Editor, Kimberly Young in my hotel elevator. Ms. Young wasn’t wearing her nametag, but I recognized her voice from the podcasts on the Eharlequin website. By the way, those podcasts are chalked full of great stuff! If you’re a writer, and targeting Harlequin, definitely check them out.
While at conference, I spent time with chaptermate Renee Alexis and my roommate and pal, Jodi Redford I wish I had photos of the three of us at Animal Kingdom. If you haven’t yet been to Disney, IMO, you need to experience its allure and fantasy-like ambience firsthand. It really is a magical place. You don’t have to be a kid to have a good time. I’m sorry though, that I wasn’t able to check out the Magical Kingdom and meet some of Disney’s finest.
As for the conference,RWA did a fabulous job coordinating all the workshops. The presenters of the many workshops I attended during the course of the conference provided me with a plethora of new material to add to my creative and business arsenals. I’ll mention two here, because it’s over two weeks later, and I still remember them. *g* Margie Lawson and the Carina Press spotlight with Angela James who did an excellent job giving the audience a clear picture of Carina and its mission. As a side note: I’ve just finished up Angela’s editing course with Savvy Authors If you haven’t yet taken it, you need to hurry up and get your spot for her next available class! She presents her lessons with no fuss, no frills added but with plenty examples to get her point across. And I loved that! Go ahead. I’ll wait. *g* Back to conference recap.
The Wednesday night literacy book signing, alone, was very interesting. I sat with Jodi Redford who was signing. To our left was Deanna Raybourn who is so down-to-earth and so nice to chat with. I had fun making small talk with her when she wasn’t busy with her readers.
Keynote speaker, Nora Roberts and Awards Lunch-in speaker, Jayne Ann Krentz are wonderful presenters who impressed me with their incredible amount of knowledge and sound advice, while making me laugh along the way.
The Golden Heart and Rita ceremony left me on the edge of my seat. I can’t imagine how anxious the nominees must’ve been. It was an emotional evening at times for me. I found myself tearing up when one of the winners, (any winner) would become emotional. I especially loved when Julia Quinn was inducted to the Romance Writers of America’s Hall of Fame after winning her third Rita in the category of best Regency Historical Romance with What Happens In London. And my fellow blogger, G. Jillian Stone not only won a Golden Heart, she also snagged an agent. 🙂 Go Jillian!
Since I’ joined RWA in 2006, I learned quickly that the Rita and GH ceremony along with the literacy book signing are infamous with members. Each year, up until now, I’d read others accounts of the conference and events there, and I’d wonder what it would be like to attend and experience them for myself. They were both pretty awesome! After attending this conference, I’ve gained an even greater appreciation for the romance genre, and writing in general. I’ve sharpened my own focus, expanding my dreams while narrowing my goals to the more practical few that I can control.
After returning home from Orlando, , I dove right into my family reunion, the MacInnis family reunion. My relatives from all over Canada flew in for the four-day event. I met second and third cousins, and wives/husbands/children of those cousins it made my head spin. But I had a lot of fun doing it. I heard the Harlequin party was a blast, but trust me, no one can party like my family. *g*
Next up for me, in September, is the year-long mentorship class with Lori Wilde I’m extatic for this course to start. This course looks like it’ll be a blast.
Well, there’s my not-to-concise recap. I hope those of you who attended conference had a fun time just as I did.